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Baseball commissioner needs to shift his position

 
Rob Manfred has been the commissioner of Major League Baseball for all of one day and, already, his logic makes little sense and could become a serious threat to the Rays’ ability to compete, Tom Jones writes. [AP photo] 
Rob Manfred has been the commissioner of Major League Baseball for all of one day and, already, his logic makes little sense and could become a serious threat to the Rays’ ability to compete, Tom Jones writes. [AP photo] 
Published Jan. 27, 2015

Maybe Peyton Manning should be forced to throw left-handed because he's too good at throwing righty. Perhaps Floyd Mayweather should throw only jabs because his hooks are too lethal. From now on, Steven Stamkos can't take one-timers because he scores too many goals.

In Rob Manfred's world, that's how sports should work.

Manfred has been the commissioner of Major League Baseball for two days and, already, his logic makes no sense and could be a serious threat to the Rays' ability to compete.

On Sunday, in his first interview since taking over as commissioner, Manfred told ESPN that he is open to eliminating defensive shifts in order to inject offense into the game.

That would be devastating news for the Rays. Devastating and incredibly unfair.

For the past several years, few teams, if any, have used defensive shifts as well or as often as the Rays. An organization built on pitching, defense and some pretty smart fellows who know how to draw up a spreadsheet, the Rays have used sophisticated shifts based on countless hours of scouting and analysis to give themselves the best chance to get out opposing hitters.

Then along comes Manfred, suggesting that the Rays should scrap all that because he'll tell them where their fielders can stand.

Manfred has a lot on his plate. I get that. Major League Baseball is in trouble and Manfred knows it.

Games are too long. The sport is too boring. The average fan qualifies for AARP benefits. Most of the country prefers the NFL. Younger sports fans tend to gravitate to the NBA and extreme sports. Baseball is becoming an old-fogey sport.

So it's up to Manfred to fix this, and he is looking for non-traditional ways to pump life into the game.

He wants to speed up the game, which is necessary. He wants to make it more exciting, which is admirable.

But banning shifts is no way to do that.

You cannot penalize teams for doing something well, while aiding players who cannot do something well. By eliminating shifts, you're taking away a valuable weapon of some while throwing a lifeline to hitters who are aren't good enough to, as the old saying goes, hit 'em where they ain't.

What's next, eliminating certain pitches? A guy can't hit sliders, so you can't throw him sliders? Isn't that what eliminating shifts would do?

It's also an attack on small-market teams who can't afford fat payrolls full of big bats.

The Rays and teams like them cannot go out and sign the top hitters in the game. When the top free-agent boppers hit the open market, only the big-market teams can sign them.

So smaller-market teams have to find other ways to compete. Instead of relying strictly on talent, they must find ways to outplay and outsmart their richer opponents. That means tireless scouting that is reflected on the field in the form of strategy.

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Don't throw that hitter fastballs. Don't pitch that hitter up in the zone. Steal on this pitcher. Bunt against that one. Fill your lineup with left-handed hitters some days then go with all righties the next.

All of that is a part of baseball. It's important strategy. So is using shifts.

Why should the Rays be penalized because they have figured out that David Ortiz hits most of his balls into the same area?

Speaking of Ortiz, you could make an argument that if you're a really good hitter, you can out-hit the shifts anyway. Ortiz faces more pronounced shifts than anyone in the game, yet his average over the past four seasons (.298) is higher than his lifetime average (.285). Ortiz continues to hit homers (35 last season) and drive in runs (104) because he has learned how to adjust. He has become immune to shifts. That's what good hitters do. Ted Williams routinely hit against shifts, and it didn't stop him from becoming the best hitter in the history of the game.

By taking away the shift, you're only benefitting the below-average hitters who aren't good enough to adjust.

Is tilting the rules to help out bad players really improving the quality of the sport? Or, as I would suggest, is it watering down the sport?

Defensive shifts really are no different than using certain pitches to get out hitters. You pitch away from their strengths and to their weaknesses.

Eliminating shifts would, in theory, improve offense. But do shifts really have that much of an impact against preventing runs? According to espn.com, scoring is down only 5 percent over the past 10 years, and that could be due to other factors, such as a large increase in strikeouts.

If Manfred really wants to improve the game, start with strikeouts. Have the umpires call the strike zone according to the rule book. There would be fewer walks, more swings, more balls put in play and a much faster game with more action.

In the end, it's hard to imagine the elimination of shifts coming to fruition. Defenses have seven players (not counting the pitcher and catcher) to cover one big patch of land. Manfred should not be able to tell managers where those seven players should or should not stand.

If he insists on such measures, I have some advice on where he should stand: well away from the commissioner's office of Major League Baseball.

Tom Jones can be reached at (727)-893-8544 or tjones@tampabay.com. Listen to him from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays on WDAE 620-AM.